Let's do the Reaity Warp again
by Sabbedoria
Summary: It was a fateful Autumn afternoon when Claudia was punished with inventory. When bored, Claudia does what she does best - muck around with artefacts
1. Chapter 1

It was a fateful Autumn afternoon when Claudia Donovan, Junior Agent and Gifted Techie, ventured into the warehouse to record inventory. Everyone else, Steve, H.G, Leena, Myka, Pete and Artie, were back at the B'n'B.

She strolled down the aisles, ticking things of her clipboard and listening to music blasting through a pair of headphones, her short hair tucked behind her ears.

Taking inventory was a form of punishment she was not unfamiliar with. She both loved it and hated it, for many reasons. When she first joined, it was the only reason they needed her at the warehouse, as the girl to do inventory, and back then she cherished it, as it gave her a part in their loving; albeit dyfunctional, family. Now that she was pretty much a field agent, she really didn't want to be punished with this. I was all very conflicting, frankly.

She settled on being irate about the whole situation and went back to ticking stuff off, mumbling under her breath. She was in the jewlery alise, where all the various baubles and trinkets were kept. Most of it wasn't interesting to her, she prefered her own style of jewlery.

The ocasional sparkly object caught her attention, as most things did. In particular, one majorly sparkly object definatley caught her eye.

She turned to where it was winking at her and stalked over to it. She put the clipboard on the shelf next to her and squinted at the gem. It was large and a deep blue, cut into the shape of a love heart, its many faucets glittering in the dim lighting.

Going against her natural Don't-touch-anything-in-the-Warehouse-or-it'll-end-badly-and-artie-will-get-grumpy-Instict, she picked it up anyway. It was bulky and cool to touch, the inside light wavering in it's movement.

"Cool." She murmered, turning it over.

She looked over at the info panel. It was the original heart of the ocean, like in that movie Titanic that H.G, Myka and Steve made her watch once, It made her cry.

Stats panel said that the movie's actual heart of the ocean was based off this one, and it's supposed power to change the fate of the owner upon touch.

Claudia's breath hitched in her throat in panic and she looked back at the necklace. The lights inside it were flasing and pulsing quicker by the second. She tried putting it back, but the world spun and went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so just a quick note: I am not American, so I do not know how the schooling/college things work, so bear with me, you have a friendly suggestions, sending me a private message would be much apreciated. Thanks!**

**PS: Seeing Todd does not have a last name, I gave him one - Marshell, Todd Marshell**

* * *

It was a cool winter morning when Claudia Donovan woke up in her room with a gasp. She looked around and jumped out of bed with a start. Breathing hard, she shook her head and inspected her surroundings closer. She was in her room, that was for sure. Her room was pretty small and consisted of a desk on one side of the room, and a bed + wardrobe on the other. Her desk had some neat papers on it and a closed laptop.

She shook her head again, what a peculiar dream she had, the absurdity of it made her laugh. In her dream, her parents had died when she was young. In her dream, her brother raised her until he was caught in an_ interdemensional bubble_. In her dream she was put in an institution until released as an adult. Then she hunted down a old grouch named Artie who worked in a place of magical artifacts. She got him to help her bring her brother back.

More of the dream was fading, only flashes went past; The time she was framed by a man called Mcphearson - the time she nearly died because of a magical spoon - the time she fell in love with a IT guy called Todd - the time she met Fargo from Global dynamics - the time H.G Wells tried to blow up the world - the time she befriended a gay man called Steve - The time she joined a band... called... Dead Rent? Good music bad name? It was fading faster - Steve getting kicked out - Steve betraying them - Steve being a spy for them to protect her - Steve dying-

She stifled a gasp at this as a surge of emotion overtook her for no reason, she touched her face, there was a tear. How bizzare

And the dream faded to the day they saved the warehouse from being blown up - Thank god it wasn't and-

The dream was now nothing more then a small recollection, an inkling at the back of her mind and a feeling she couldn't shake.

She sighed and turned on her laptop. One message from her boyfriend Todd, remindig her that it was their first day back and he was picking her up.

She smiled at his attentiveness, of course she wouldn't forget. She realised she was going to be late and shut her laptop cafefully, then shoving it into her satchel for school along with a few of her papers from last night.

She ran to her wardrobe and pulled out a few of her clothes, a grungy tee shirt, skinny jeans and a jacket. She threw on her favorite necklace, made out of wire and shaped of look like two skeletal hands clasped at the hollow of her throat.

She grabbed her bag and her converse sneakers, lacing them up as she ran down the stairs. She passed the kitchen and did a double take before running in.

"Morning Claud." Her mum chirped at her, dressed in a formal blouse and black pencil skirt, her mousy brown hair tied back in a bun, not a hair out of place. Claudia gasped out of schock and sadness, and she didn't know why. It was as if she was so immensley happy to see her mother alive. But she's alive.

Confused even more by the turn of events that had taken her morning, she pushed back the lump in her throat.

"Morning mum. Where's dad?"

"He had to leave for work early, some business meeting. Again. Are you going to have some breakfast before you leave?"

"I'll grab some at school, I don't want to be late for Mr. Neilson's class, he's such a grouch." Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Have fun, be good." Chriped her mum as Claudia started walking out of the house

"Always, Mum!" Claudia shut the front door gently and was greeted by a car horn.

Todd was waiting in his beat up little yellow volkswagon bug. Todd was always complaining that his bug was not a very manly colour, being a sunshine yellow. Claudia would then point out to him that a Volkswagon itself was not a very manly car to start with.

"Hurry up, Claudiola."

"Oh shush, Toddorama, I had a weird dream and slept in." She opened her door and slid in to the passengers side, dumping her satchel on the backseat

"What happened in your dream?" He asked curiously, taking his hand of the steering wheel to push up the glases on the bridge of his nose.

"Really weird stuff, dude, it was... I dunno." She shook her head as though she was trying to remove water from her ears.

"What kind of wierd?"

"I... can't remember." She frowned to herself, unable to grasp in her memory the dream.

"Oh well then, I'm sure it'll come back to you. Did you do the homework for Mr. Neilson?"

"Urgh, of course. All about Egypt and the pyramids? He'll probaly correct me on everything and say mine's all wrong. I think it's because he was just a child when the pyramids were being built, he's so old." She pulled a stack of papers out of her bag and waved it around. "Two thousand words excatly. What about you?"

"One thousand, nine hundred and seventy-nine." He sighed, starting the bugs old engine. "So close, yet so far."

"Not all of us can be geniuses." She sighed. "It's a burden I must bear."

"Little miss A-Plus."

She poked her tounge out at Todd. He glanced at her while driving and she smacked his arm playfully

"Keep your eyes on the road, you irresponsible young adult, you."

* * *

Claudia never really enjoyed the social side of school. She loved the learning side of it, at first. Then it got tedious as her knowledge expanded past that of the normal boundaries of a school student, courtesy of extra tutoring her parents got her.

Now she only went 'cause she had to, but she knew what she wanted to do after school. She was brilliant with computers, so she wanted to go to college, study IT, finish and get a job somewhere as a hacker (The good kind).

Maybe with Secret Service, or ATF or FBI or M.O.U.S.E. Get some special credentials somehow. Her brother Joshua was already at Cern, working with the Hadron collider. He was a Physics Major and top of his class, but he always seemed to make time for her. He too had Mr. Neilson as a history teacher.

Claudia pushed through the crowds, Todd in tow, to reach the spot where their lockers were side-by-side. She let go of his hand to acess her own locker, opened it to grab her books required, shoving them in her back and crinkling a few.

"Hurry up Toddorama, We'll be late."

"That's what you've been saying for the past five minutes." He sighed, closing his locker with a quiet bang.

"Come on slowpoke!" She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to their Class. Mr Neilson was a thousand year old man with a bad temper and even worse eyebrows to match. Being late to his class was simply a deathwish, or a one way ticket to detention.

Puffed out and flushed, Claudia and Todd made it to History with seconds to spare.

"Take a seat, Miss Donovan, Mr. Marshell" Grumbled Mr Neilson, a portly man with curly and black hair. He turned and started writing on the board. "The Titanic. Who can tell me about the Titanic?"

Claudia raised her hand lazily, as no one else in the class would.

"Yes, Miss Donovan."

"**RMS ****_Titanic_** was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. The sinking of _Titanic_ caused the deaths of 1,502 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. The RMS _Titanic_ was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. She was the second of three _Olympic_ class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, and she was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. On her maiden voyage, she carried 2,224 passengers and crew." She sighed.

"Thank you, Miss Donovan, that will be enough."

Todd coughed from next to her

" *Cough* Kiss ass."

She glared at him before giving him a faux cough

" *Cough* You're a child."

"When you two are quite finished." Mr Neilson glared at them. "Captained by Edward Smith, her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins.

She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Because of outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – slightly more than half of the number travelling on the maiden voyage and one-third her total passenger and crew capacity."

"Sir, wasn't it a movie?" A particularly stupid blonde cheerleader (Not that Claudia used stereotypes) Raised her hand and blurted out the first thing on her mind.

Mr. Neilson sighed. "The Titanic was an actual ship that sailed and the movie was based on the event, focusing on a fictional dramatized relationship between two young adults."

"So there was no such thing as the heart of the ocean, the necklace?" A young Titanic fan by the name of Audrey asked.

"No, the Heart of the ocean was based on a blue sapphire pendant on the RMS _Titanic_. It was given to passenger Kate Florence Phillips by her married lover, Samuel Morley, as the pair fled to America to make a new life for themselves. Morley perished in the sinking, and it is believed that this tragic love story may have been the inspiration for James Cameron's film.

The idea of a blue diamond is also in the 1943 film _Titanic_. In this film the diamond plays an important role in a love affair as well. In the film, the diamond is stolen and creates a dramatic break in a romantic relationship, this being a primary factor in the drama of the film. As folklore, it is said that anyone that touches the pendant will have the course of their life altered at one point and can only be reversed by the death of one's lover."

"Pretty morbid." Todd whispered to her.

Claudia was pretty sure that most of the class had fallen asleep since the first word Mr. Neilson spoke.

He wrote some more on the board and turned to look Claudia in the eye.

"Sometimes, Folklore can be based on fact."


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you have next?" Claudia asked, looking over to her boyfriend and shutting her locker.

"Um.." He looked down at his schedule and pushed his glasses up. "I have… English, with Miss Lake, then Science with Miss Bering, and you?"

"PE with Mr Lattimer, urgh." She sighed

"What's wrong with Mr Lattimer? He's nice." Todd frowned

"It's not him; it's the whole concept of P.E. I hate it, you know how uncoordinated I am."

"Oh well, have fun anyway." He said

"I won't." She promised. She grabbed her P.E kit and walked down the hall, waving goodbye to Todd.

The hall was still packed with students. One in particular stood out to her.

"Dougie, Hey!" She called

Douglas Fargo was a nerdy senior that went by the name of Fargo. He used to date Claudia, but it didn't last long, now he went out with the bundle the spastic nerdy happiness herself, Holly Marten. She was nice, and a redhead too, but she was the D+D playing gamer nerd, and Claudia was more the artistic, music nerd. Holly played violin while Claudia played guitar. It wasn't that they didn't get on well, they just didn't have a whole lot in common. You could say they were different ends of the Nerd spectrum.

Fargo was eighteen, with large oversized glasses, a black mop of hair and a scrawny frame. He was talking to another group of his nerdy dungeons and dragons friends, discussing quantum physics, which usually bored Claudia. She understood it but didn't really care either way. As soon as his nerd friends saw her, they all greeted her warmly.

"Claudia, what's up?"

"Doug, what are you doing Saturday night?"

"Nothing really, why?"

"My band's playing at the local café, it's open mic night, and we need spectators. Could you and Holly make it?"

"Sure, let me check if I have anything on, I have such a busy schedule, you know, what with my non-existent social life and all." He joked

"That's a yes then? Thanks Dougie." She squealed and hugged him. "I've got to go, I've got P.E with Lattimer."

"Seeya Claudia."

Claudia had to run to try to make it to P.E. On her way, she stopped to walk past the staff room, she didn't want to get told off for running in the halls

"When will Claudia figure it out…?"

Her curiosity peaked at the sound of her name, it was a small school, and there was only one Claudia. She slowed to press her ear at the staff door. It was Miss Bering, her science teacher.

"Claudia will do what is right, when the time is right." A mellow voice said. It was Mrs Fredricks, the vice-principal. The head Principle was a man called Mr. Kosan, not that anyone ever saw him that much.

"Her Aura's all out of whack, I don't like it." Sighed Leena, the school Guidance counsellor. _What? Aura? What the hell are they talking about?_ Claudia thought to herself, frowning, leaning closer

"I'm sick of teaching science, when Artie gets to teach History, it's around the wrong way, who mixed our jobs up?" Miss Bering sighed

"Back to the point." Mr. Neilson Growled. "What are we going to do about her, we can't stay like this forever, can we? I hate teaching students."

"It shouldn't be for much longer, trust me."

"Can't we tell her?"

"No! That'll make it worse. She needs to figure it out in her own time, it's the only way." She urged quietly in hushed tones.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the week passed with ease. No more strange happenings occurred. It was finally Saturday, and for Claudia, it meant open microphone night at the little café Claudia loved. There were no more teachers whispering in the corridors, no more weird looks from Miss Bering, or Miss Lake. Claudia shrugged off the weirdness and went about her life. Well, as best she could, but there was still that nagging thought at the back of her mind.

Claudia drove up to Cafe Diem, where the open microphone was held. The rest of the band, Dwayne, Josh, and Caleb were already setting up inside, Caleb's van parked outside the sooty back entrance. Claudia, knowing she was late, ran and skited inside the dank little cafe, nearly tripping over her own feet, nearly running into one of its faded emerald walls.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" She called when she walked around to where they were set up. She propped up her guitar case and got her baby out. Claudia loved her guitar; it was something that she learned to play in her recreational time in the psyche ward and was her all-time favourite possession.

"S'all right, what took you so long?"

"I had to finish up a paper on H.G Wells for Mrs Lake's English class. She's kind of touchy about the subject, so it had to be very accurate."

"Yeah, she's weird about it." He shook his head and got out his bass.

"A little possessive." Claudia nodded.

"What songs are we doing again tonight?" Caleb, the drummer, asked.

"See! This is what happens when you miss the band meet." Claudia sighed, throwing her hand up in the air in exasperation. "We're doing; 'Wasted Daylight' by Stars, 'Misery Business' By Paramore; 'White Rabbit' By Jefferson Aeroplane; and finally, 'The Scientist' by Coldplay."

"Oh yeah, right."

"Please tell me you remember how to play them?"

"Yeah yea, calm ya farm." He waved off her irritation and concern

Claudia sighed and finished setting up. She looked up to see Todd sitting in the front row of tables. He grinned at her, his eyes lighting up behind his glasses. He gave her a little wave as the waiter placed his tea on his table. Todd always loved his tea; it was ridiculous how much of the stuff he drank.

At the table behind Todd, as requested, were Fargo and Holly.

Over to the side was one of Claudia's friends, Megan, a blonde little thing who was part of the cheer squad, and had a bad taste in boyfriends. Megan was the only one, who stopped Claudia from complete social abandonment, but Claudia usually looked a fool in front of the other cheer members anyway, and the Cheer Captain, Felicity, hated her guts.

This didn't make Claudia's life any easier, but Claudia didn't care what the plastic cow thought of her, which ticked off Felicity even more, griping to get a reaction out of Claude.

But there she was, sitting at a table, her cheerleading uniform still pristine (Seriously? Did this girl just wear that thing everywhere?) Leaning back, legs crossed, picking at her nails, swinging her foot.

Next to Felicity was her meat-head boyfriend, Mick, Quarterback and moron.

Claudia pushed her thoughts of hatred towards the girl to the back of her mind, propped her guitar up and spoke into the microphone, it was time to start.

"Good evening Ladies and Jellybeans. We're the band Dead Rent, and we're here today to play you a few tunes, so sit back, relax and enjoy."

There was a round of applause as the music started

* * *

They'd finished the first three sets and were taking a break; Claudia was sitting and ordered a water, which she started sipping in, knots in her stomach winding tighter as Todd was no-where to be seen.

A figure walked over to her

"Todd!" She called, and Todd it was. "Where've you been?"

"I was at the toilets. Look, Claude, there's something I need to tell you." He told monotony, sitting down

"What is it?" She inquired, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"My parents. We have to move out of town. it's short notice." He flatly.

"Well, that's ok then, we can still Skype?" She asked, hopeful

"No. That's the thing. They told me long-distance relationships don't work. I don't want to do that to you. I don't think it's a good idea for me to see you anymore" He said coldly, not looking at her.

"So, you're dumping me?" Her voice got choked up at the end

"It's... I'm... I messed up in something. Saw something I shouldn't have. I don't want you to get hurt."

Someone tapped Claudia on her shoulder.

"Claude, we got to go finish the next set, c'mon." It was Dwayne.

"You should go, Claudiola. It's your time to shine." Todd smiled at her sadly.

Dwayne pulled her away and she stumbled to her guitar, the spotlight flashed in her face, blinding her. She couldn't see Todd anymore. She cleared her throat and squinted through the light, just being able to make out the shadow that was Todd. She sung;

_"Come up to meet you _

_Tell you I'm sorry_

_ You don't know how lovely you are_

_ I had to find you_

_ Tell you I need you_

_ Tell you I set you apart"_

**The shadow that was Todd wavered and shifted in his seat.**

_"Tell me your secrets_

_ And ask me your questions_

_ Oh, let's go back to the start_

_ Running in circles; coming up tails_

_ Heads on a silence apart "_

_"Nobody said it was easy_

_ It's such a shame for us to part_

_ Nobody said it was easy_

_ No one ever said it would be this hard_

_ Oh take me back to the start"_

**Todd stood up from his seat.**

_"I was just guessing at numbers and figures_

_ Pulling your puzzles apart_

_ Questions of science; science and progress_

_ Do not speak as loud as my heart_

_Tell me you love me_

_ Come back and haunt me_

_ Oh and I rush to the start_

_ Running in circles, chasing our tails_

_ Coming back as we are"_

**Todd started to walk out. Claudia couldn't see his face. She probably didn't want to **

_Nobody said it was easy_

_ Oh it's such a shame for us to part_

_ Nobody said it was easy_

_ No one ever said it would be so hard_

_ I'm going back to the start."_

Her eyes followed him as he lingered in the doorway to café Diem. She finished the last strum on her guitar as he walked out. She sniffed, trying to stop the flow of hot salty tears, with little success.

_So this is how it ends – Todd and Claudia no more. _She thought as the applause rung through the cafe


	5. Chapter 5

A week from Claudia's disastrous open mic night was..

The dreaded Prom night

Frankly, Claudia didn't want to go, it was a reminder of Todd and all things painful, because back when they were dating, he regularly pestered her to go with him, and she agreed because he was her boyfriend and she only wanted to go to have fun with him. Now, she owed him nothing.

Claude hadn't heard from Todd for the whole week, she'd seen what she thought were glimpses of him in the hallway. His dark chocolate hair, a flash of light glinting off his glasses, his gawky, awkward gait, but no, it turned out every time to be some random. He left without a proper goodbye, and it broke Claudia's heart. At first she was sad, now she was just bitter, she knew it wasn't good for her, but it was in her nature to be angry and resentful, and right now, she was definitely both.

Usually she looked forward to Friday nights. Not now, never now. Especially since her own mother had turned against her and was making her to go.

_You can go stag to prom_

_Be there for your friends_

Her mother's words echoed in her mind. Bah, whatever, she would go, but she wouldn't be happy about it, she grumbled, pulling at the hem of her dress.

She looked in the mirror, she was dressed up in a dark blue lace outfit, a gothic-Victorian style dress with a corset, elbow length black lace gloves, her hair was down in its usual red bob, she had a blue streak and a lace feather layered on the top.

_It's now or never_

_Stupid prom_

_Stupid girl_

_Stupid heart_

"Claudia! Come on!" Her mum called from downstairs

Claudia sighed and grabbed her purse

"Coming mum!"

She ran downstairs, nearly tripping on the stairs on her way down

"Oh Claude, you look stunning." Her mother gushed from at the bottom of the stairs. Claudia rolled her eyes at her mother's incessant fangirling.

"It's only prom, mum."

"Still, It's an important milestone." She gently grabbed her daughter's shoulders and directed her out the door. "Josh is going to drive you there in the beetle."

Claudia sighed again as her mother marched her out the door and practically pushed her down the porch stairs

"Have fun sweetie!"

"I won't." Claudia grumbled, pulling up the skirts of her dress and shoving herself into the small, confined space that was her 1967 Volkswagen beetle

"You look decent for once, baby sister, like an actual female." Her brother Joshua said, teasing her playfully, his hand on the steering wheel and his eyes twinkling in amusement

"Shut your gob, Josh, or I swear I will end you." She growled, clearly unamused

"Don't swear, it's not ladylike."

Claudia poked her tongue out at Josh but said nothing for the rest of the dull and endless car trip.

"Cheer up, Claude." Josh sighed. "Your anger in this car is thick enough to cut with a chainsaw.'

"I will not."

"then you're only going to have a bad time."

"I'm only going to have a bad time. It's inevitable."

"Only if you keep thinking that way."

"Shut up."

"Nope.

_"Yes." _She growled, glaring at him

"Nooope."

**"Yes."**

"Nope nope nopeity, nope." Josh sung good-naturedly, his eyes never straining from the road.

"Urgh, you're impossible."

"I think you mean improbable."

"Shut up, math nerd."

"Oh, harsh blow, ice queen."

"Now listen here you-"

"-Oh look at that, we're here, there you go, have fun, goodbye!"

"But!-" She spluttered

Josh practically pushed her out of the car and drove off, leaving her in the car park in front of her school gym, where masses of people had gathered. Music pounded from the lit up gym and people staggered in their heels up the driveway. Some staggered from drunkenness, which Claudia supposed was from people eager to get smashed tonight

_Note to self; don't drink the spiked punch_

The inside of the gym was filled with, for now, non-sweaty bodies all packed together like sardines in a tin can. Claudia hated sardines. A lot

A few teachers dotted the walls, including Mr. Neilson in a tux, Miss Bering in a dress (shock horror) Miss Lake in a pantsuit, and Mr Lattimer in one of those tuxedo shirts and jeans. Typical Mr Lattimer. Monitoring the punchbowl was the motherly guidance counsellor, Miss Leena. Yep. Now no one could spike the punchbowl. (Note the sarcasm)

"Claudia!" A voice called from behind her. Claudia was standing in the doorway of the gym only to realise that there were people behind her, indignantly waiting to go in. Crap. She sidestepped and ran into the person who called her name, her blonde and only friend Megan, cheerleader and all-around nice person.

"Whoa, careful Claude!" It was true; Claudia nearly fell on her and nearly ripped her dress.

"Crap, sorry Megan." Claudia straightened herself and inspected her friend, who was dress in a long ruffled baby-pink halter neck dress, her hair up in a bun and small stands framing her face. On her arm was her current boyfriend, whose name Claudia could never remember.

"S'all right. Where's Todd, isn't he with you?"

Claudia just remembered that she hadn't actually told Megan about Todd. Did this make her a bad person? Probably.

"Ah. Um… About that.."

"Hey Claudiola."

Claudia spun to the sound of the voice. It was Todd.

"Todd, how are you?" Megan asked politely.

"I'm ok. This place is a bit crowed. Too many cool kids." He joked

Claudia stood around like the stunned mullet she was. She came back to her senses wuickly and smiled a tight smile that looked very fake  
"Excuse me a second, I gotta talk to Todd, Seeya around Megan!"

She grabbed him by the hand and furiously pulled him through the crowd and out the other side where a small doorway to the school gardens where.

"What. The. Hell. Serisously. What the actual hell, dude."

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I thought you already left." She said quietly, fury and hurt barely contained in her voice

"Nope."

"Why weren't you at school then?"

"Packing." The answer was so simple, yet so painful in its meaning and realisation.

A silence sliced between them

"Say something?" He asked breathily

She blinked back tears and turned away from him

"Claudia, look at me?' He out his hand on her shoulder gently. She shrugged it off and bit her lip.

"You left. Why did you have to come back? You already said goodbye."

"I didn't want to."

"You shouldn't have."

"I had to find you. Tell you I need you, that I set you apart."

"You should have thought of that beforehand."

"You came to prom tonight. Why?"

"I wasn't going to. Mum forced me to." That sounded lame in her head, and as she spoke it.

"But you still came."

"I didn't know you were going to be here!" She cried "Tell me you love me? Come back and haunt me? It's not fair. Goodbye is goodbye. Just leave already."

"Nobody said it was easy. Nobody said it would be this hard."

Claudia already shattered heart was fragmented and cracking even more, if that was possible, it was causing an actual physical pain in her chest. She wrapped her arms around her chest as though it would help her heart from falling through her ribs

"You look beautiful tonight." He said quietly. She sniffed and looked up. He actually looked quite debonair in his tuxedo. He didn't have a corsage pinned to his jacket lapel.

"You look.. Alright." She joked through the pain

He half smiled at her, sadness haunting his eyes

* * *

"This won't work, we're running out of time!" Pete whined

"It will work, just let it. We still have time. We only intervene when I say so." Artie growled

"Artie's right. Leave it be." H.G chastised

"Oh shush, H.G. Just because you're over a hundred, doesn't mean your smarter then me." Typical Pete.

"Well, actually-" H.G started

"-Enough, Pete and H.G, we have job to do." Myka chipped in

"Thank you Myka, as I was saying, we need to let it run its course. If desperate, then we tell her, ok?"

"Agreed." Chipped in a new voice, Steve Jinks, former ATF and Claudia's best friend, she just didn't know it yet.

"When this is over, will she remember it?"

"I don't know. I hope not." Artie sighed, rubbing his temples sadly.

* * *

"Will you dance with me?"

"No, you know I can't dance."

"Neither can I. Let's start a riot then."

Claudia rolled her eyes at her Ex-Boyfriends antics. He was still her Ex-Boyfriend, due to the fact that she wasn't going to forgive him anytime soon.

_She wasn't going to be able to either, seeing he was going to move states in less the twenty-four hours_

Even if they were still outside, he pulled her in, put his hand on his waist and spun her around.

"You're strange." She chuckled at him softly, resting her head in his shoulder

The gym door opened and Miss Bering walked out. The two teenagers stepped apart

"Claudia, Todd, you're not meant to be out here, please come inside." She said quietly, not looking at Claudia. And with that she walked back inside.

"Why are our teachers all so odd?"

"You tell me."

With that they headed inside before they got scolded.

The people inside were now officially sweaty and kind of gross. It was 10:00 at night and a quarter of the prom attendee's were flat-out drunk. Claudia now seriously doubted that she'd have any fun tonight, at this rate.

"Hey Claude?" todd asked cautiously

"Yeah Todd?"

"Where did you get that necklace from?"

"Which?..." Claudia looked down to her chest. Clasped around her neck was a heavy necklace, a blue inlaid diamond with white diamonds clustered around. The chain was made of silver and the blue diamond was huge, barely fitting in the hollow of her neck. Claudia did not remember owning that, let alone putting it on, to make matters odder, the necklace had lit up and was throwing light onto Claudia's face, the lighting bouncing of the facets , looking like when light bounces off water.

Claudia reached up to touch it

"Ouch!"

"What?"

"It stung me." She exclaimed, flicking her fingers from the pain

"Excuse me, young man." It was Miss Lake, the British English teacher. "But your compainion is looking thirsty, care to retrieve a drink for her?"

"Umm. Ok." He stuttered, wondering off. He shot a confused look at her behind Miss Lake's back

"Claudia, darling, you need to come with me, I'm afraid it's urgent."

"But-"

"-Please, Claudia, we need to go talk to some other teachers." She said, earnestly, but hurriedly

"Ok.. Am I in trouble?" Claudia asked, trailing behind her.

"Not in so many words, darling."

She led Claudia to a corner in the gym where a few teachers, Mr Lattimer, Miss Bering and Mr Neilson were assembled. They all looked at her solemnly and headed into the AV room. Claudia, at this point, was scared and confused. The music slowed and inside the AV room, off the side of the gym, blocked off most of the noise.

Miss Bering shut the door to the small, green-walled AV room. Mr Lattimer sat back on one of the many desks in the room. Already occupying the room was Mrs Fredricks, the Vice-Principal, Leena, The guidance councillor (Who must have been reprieved from her punchbowl duties) Mr Jinks, a supply teacher, and out of the shadows stepped Mr Kosan, the principal himself. The whole room was quite dark, only to be lit up by Claudia's necklace.

"What's going on?" Claudia asked, her voice shaking

"There was been an… abnormality.' Mr Kosan spoke. The blue light reflected off his bald head and lit up his solemn eyes

"An abnormality?"

"We need to tell you something Claudia. Something important. We don't want you to panic, and trust me, none of us are crazy, but we need you to listen to us. The fate of the world could rest on all of this."

Claudia nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"This, this reality, is not real."

_Well that was blunt_

"Well, it is real, the actual reality is much like this, except t everyone in this school is or has been associated with a top secret facility in South Dakota-'

Pete snorted. "Sorry, it just sounds funny with 'top-secret' and 'South Dakota' in the same sentence." Miss Bering pinched him and he got serious

"-Anyway, as I was saying, everyone in this school is directly or indirectly connected to a top secret facility, called Warehouse 13."

"Oh." She exclaimed. It felt like someone had slapped her in the face, the familiarity of that name was like a warm blanket of comfort and Claudia knew instantly she could trust these people. "I believe you."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, it was as though they half expected her not to believe them

"Now I will introduce you further, just to jog your memory, I am Agent Kosan, my job at the warehouse is strictly need-to-know. This is Artie, he is your supervisor, Leena is the innkeeper of the b'n'b the agents all live at, your co-workers are agents Myka Bering, Pete Lattimer and Steve Jinks. Mrs Fredricks is caretaker of the warehouse. "

"Where does everyone and I fit into this?"

"You are a fully instated agent at the warehouse, former tech support and taker of inventory. Your friend Megan was once effected by the objects we house at the warehouse and you two once briefly connected on bad luck experiences."

"What about my family?" Claudia inquired politely, fidgeting with her gloves. Everyone's face fell solemnly

"Your parents.. in our reality, died in a car crash, I'm so sorry."

Claudia stood, stunned

"Your brother raised you but got stuck in an inter-dimensional bubble, in which case you decided to kidnap Arthur and use him to get Joshua out. From there, you were offered a job at the warehouse."

"And Miss Lake?" Everyone cringed at Claudia use of Miss Lake's name

"Miss Lake is actually Helena Wells, better known as H.G Wells."

"H.G Wells is a woman?"

"My brother Charles was the writer, I supplied the ideas." Pete rolled his eyes at H.G

"Well, what about Todd? And Dwayne? And Fargo and Holly?" Claudia enquired, fearful of the answer. Artie's face darkened at the mentioning of Fargo

"Todd was a guy working at the hardware store in the witness protection program you fell in love with, Dwayne's one of your band members, Fargo and Holly are from a town called Eureka, a town for super geniuses. Fargo once visited to update our servers are you two became tonsil-hockey partners." Pete butted in

Claudia cringed at his terminology.

"So what happened? Why are we all here?"

"Well, from what we can guess, you mucked about with an artefact, that one on your neck, in fact, and that made a reality-warp." Myka said

"What is the Necklace?"

"From what we can gather, it was the original heart of the ocean."

"You mean from titanic?" Megan was obsessed with that movie. She made Claudia watch it. Claudia cried.

"The original, yes, that was meant to have sunken with the ship."

"Well, what does it do?"

No-one responded

"Guys?" Claudia asked, really worried by this time

"I'll tell her." Steve Jinks stepped forward. "In the movie Titanic, Rose's entire reality was warped after she put it on, she fell in love, and all that jazz, what the necklace does is change your reality."

"How do we go back to the original one?"

"That's the thing, Claude; the only way… is for your one true love to die…."

"Who? Who needs to die?" asked Claudia, thoroughly distressed

"Todd. Todd needs to die."


	6. Chapter 6

_Todd needs to die Todd needs to die Todd needs to die Todd needs to die Todd needs to die Todd needs to die_

The words pounded over and over in my head while the world around me spun out. Someone caught me and I was vaguely aware that I had started to collapse. Steve had caught me by my waist and I struggled to right myself.

I knew I couldn't do it. _Couldn't do it?_ These people were just crazy. This couldn't be true. None of this could be true. It was crazy. Pure insanity. Was she dreaming, or a group hallucination?

But... But, it ringed true. The whole story echoed in her mind like an old dream. She didn't want to it, but, suddenly it was like a door had opened in her mind. Memories, thoughts, sensation burst through her mind like an explosion on colour. She shut her eyes and watched the shapes dance behind her eyelids.

Her parents had died when she was young. Her brother raised her until he was caught in an interdemensional bubble. She was put in an institution until released as an adult. Then she hunted down an old grouch named Artie who worked in a place of magical artefacts. She got him to help her bring her brother back.

Flashes went past as they downloaded themselves into her brain; The time she was framed by a man called Mcphearson - the time she nearly died because of a magical spoon - the time she fell in love with a IT guy called Todd - the time she met Fargo from Global dynamics - the time H.G Wells tried to blow up the world - the time she befriended a gay man called Steve - The time she joined a band... called... Dead Rent? Good music bad name? It was fading faster - Steve getting kicked out - Steve betraying them - Steve being a spy for them to protect her - Steve dying-

And back to that fateful day in the warehouse when she touched the necklace and when everything went black

"Two realities have now been crammed into your head, my dear. It's going to be awfully disorientating, and the only way to prevent this all from harming you is to end this reality and return to our own." H.G Gently placed her hand on Claudia shoulder, where she was still leaning on Steve's support.

She righted herself, but had the most splitting headache. It was worse than that time she was at the institute and her and Roberto stole some wine and drank too much. Way too much. She had the worst hangover the next morning. But right now, it felt like someone had Tesla'd her from close up.

Claudia stumbled out of Steve's help and leaned on a desk in the AV room.

"So your saying." She panted with the effort "That I have to kill Todd."

H.G Nodded solemly

"But.. How?"

"You know how to, don't you? This is something we can't tell you." Artie explained, wringing his hands in guilt and stress

"But I don't…"

"We haven't got much time, Claude, it need to be done. I'm so sorry."

Claudia started to cry. She didn't want any of this. She never asked for any of this. What kind of cosmic joke had been played on her?

"Shhh.. Claude, don't cry." Steve stepped forward and gently put an arm around her. "It'll be ok. It's gunna be ok. "


End file.
